Book excerpt: The idea of flying has always captivated earthbound humans. When mortals invented gods and demons, the supernaturals came equipped with the power of flight. And humans, being envious, wished that they too could float free, soar like a bird or stand calmly on nothing. So from the beginning, when the legends of gods and the stories of man were told in theatre, flying has often been a part of the action. The theatrical act of a human flying is a scenic wonder. It began in religious plays, continued in church celebrations, and has had a place in a host of theatrical forms -- opera, the fairy play, vaudeville, melodrama, pantomime and spectacle. The apparatus for staging flight has taken its place among a host of other stage machines intended to illustrate a play's story.